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TRIM APPLICATION 7 Install blocking and stops. To support baseboard molding, glue and nail blocking to the base of the bed case. Install wood stops at the top of the case to prevent the bed from closing too far and potentially damaging interior trim. 8 Add a decorative face frame. A face frame that’s slightly wider and taller than the bed box will conceal the feet when the bed is up and hide the gap between the bed case and the bed box. especially if the bed-cabinet assembly stretches from wall to wall. If the cabinets also run from the floor to the ceiling, the unit stops being a piece of furniture in the room and becomes a wall that defines the room. Thoughtful treatment of the bed-cabinet panels and the spaces on each side of the bed can actually minimize the unit’s presence in the room. (For more ideas, see “Design a bed for any room,” p. 50.) Arrange the room to optimize functionality Switching back and forth between the bed-down, bed-up configurations will be most convenient if the rest of the furniture in the room doesn’t need to be moved each time the bed is lowered or raised. For www.finehomebuilding.com smaller rooms, this means most of the other furniture will be located around the perimeter. This approach can work well in offices where desks, file cabinets, and bookshelves can be positioned against the walls, leaving the center of the room open. In larger rooms, this centrifugal arrangement can leave the middle of the room feeling empty. A table or lightweight desk that can easily be moved out of the way before the bed drops down will improve the functionality of the room without greatly complicating the switch-over process. □ Lynn Hopkins (www.lhopkinsarch.com) is an architect in Lexington, Mass. Gary Striegler is a custom builder in Fayetteville, Ark. Photos by Rob Yagid, except where noted. DECEMBER 2010/JANUARY 2011 53